In our current busy, on-the go world people of all ages often have the need to carry small items in a container that allows them easy access to its contents, yet will not spill if the container is dropped, tipped, or shaken. While spill-proof lids in the beverage industry are well known, less development has been done of spill-proof lids directed to reducing spillage of dry food items or other small objects. Those that have been contemplated in the past use plastic or rubber materials to create flaps that flex to allow a person's fingers to enter and exit a container, the flaps then return to their original position.
Bussard in U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,717, “Non-Spilling Snack Container”, describes a cover having crossing slits forming a circle of tongues, which flex downward when a user's fingers reach inside, thus forming a self-closing, dispensing opening through the cover. The “Anti-Spill Container” described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/135,898 also contemplates flexible flaps made of various types of plastic. Similarly, Tubbs in U.S. Pat. No. 6,656,514, “Spill-Proof Lid and Container”, describes a plurality of flexible, resilient flaps that extend inwardly toward the axis of the rim, again using a plastic or rubber material. Both of these approaches have several disadvantages:                A) The downward flexing flaps restrict access to the container by only allowing several fingers to pass through; and limit the level the container may be filled to thereby reducing storage capacity.        B) The use of plastic or rubber materials in the prior art results in hard edges which can cause slight abrasions or discomfort to the user's hand.        
While prior art teaches a variety of spill-proof lids, it does not teach that a singular slit made from elasticized, synthetic fabric may form a flexible, self-closing opening. As the following summary will demonstrate, the present invention improves on the prior art in several key ways:                A) The elastic fabric provides a smooth, soft surface through which the user passes their hand, greatly increasing their comfort.        B) Unlike the flexible flaps, the action of the elastic slit is such that as the hand passes through the opening, the elastic fabric is deformed horizontally, along the same plane as the fabric itself, thus eliminating the obstruction that is created by flexible flaps that are pushed vertically into the container along with the hand.        C) The present invention allows the hand to exit the opening just as easily as it enters, the elasticized fabric offers little resistance to the movement of the hand in either direction. Closures constructed of a plurality of flexible flaps restrict the withdrawal of the hand because of their inherent stiffness (which is required for them to retain some spill-proof quality) and tendency to close on the hand or fingers as they are being withdrawn.        